The Surrey Cricket Championship Premier Division title race was wide open and there was relegation fight going on too, with issues unresolved in the levels below. In this Surrey Cricket Championship review, Richard Spiller burned some rubber round Surrey’s roads on a busy final week:
CREDIT: Surrey Cricket Foundation
Just 11 points divide the top six teams heading into Saturday’s finale, from Wimbledon at the summit to defending champions East Molesey just below halfway, a remarkable finish to the new-look league. Who will be holding the trophy at the end of the day?
Wimbledon v Spencer
What might have been a nervy final day turned into a leisurely afternoon stroll as Wimbledon coasted to the title.
They thrashed Spencer by eight wickets to win back the title last claimed in 2022.
Spencer had won their previous three matches, to secure their place in the elite after promotion 12 months ago, but were brushed aside by a side who might have already claimed the title but for narrow defeats in their previous two matches.
Opener Hugo Darby – whose 54 took him to 587 runs for the season, securing a place in the Premier’s top 10 – found little support as his side were despatched for 113 in the 32nd over, skipper Gus Grant (17no) the only other batsman to reach double-figures having earlier lost the toss.
Leading the destruction were seamers Matthew Benning (3-34) and Ben Twine (3-27), skipper Steve Reeves (2-3) manipulating an efficient attack which had no bowler in the top 10 – Ollie Pike (30) was 11th and Benning (24) in 15th – but possessed formidable depth.
Openers Tim Lloyd (61) and James Crosthwaite (40) looked as if they might complete the job on their own but left it to David Rushmere to make the winning hit in the 20th over, Jack Boyle (0no) not having the opportunity to make the 13 runs he needed to become Premier top-scorer. It didn’t seem to worry the genial Kiwi one jot. With Crosthwaite, who made 619 on his arrival from Reigate Priory, he has been at the heart of the champions’ batting.
Their race run in securing seventh place after a midsummer wobble, Spencer could be excused an off-day and in off-spinner Grant (33) was the fourth highest wicket taker overall.
Looking as happy as anyone as he handed out the champagne was Wimbledon treasurer Crispin Lyden-Cowen and he had every right. Two months ago he was in intensive care, fighting for his life. As comebacks go, it takes some beating.
Check out all the 2025 Premier League Leading Wicket Takers HERE
Reigate Priory v Sunbury
Champions two years ago, Sunbury’s abject defeat saw them relegated on a day of frustration at Reigate.
For the hosts it was a pyrrhic victory, Wimbledon’s win ensuring they could not be caught, just three points ahead.
Sunbury had gone into the match with a 13-point cushion over Esher but it was to no avail. They slumped to 109 all out after being inserted, Kiwi Fraser Sheat’s early blast of three wickets rocking the visitors and opener Sam Burgess run out by a typically sharp piece of fielding from Priory skipper George Ealham. Caleb Falconer (20) and Colby Dyer (39) did their best to stem the flow but Surrey’s James Taylor (3-25) ensured there was no let-up.
Richie Oliver was bowled by Kevin Smith with the first ball of the reply – a rare failure in a summer which has brought 715 runs for the former captain, leaving him third in the Premier list, one ahead of successor Ealham (669) – yet it was a rare bright spot for Sunbury.
Seth McDowall (61), Ealham (25no) and Surrey’s Ollie Sykes (22no) completed the job, ensuring that at least Reigate could claim second spot, a position they have occupied five times previously since last claiming top spot in 2014.
Sunbury could boast the highest run scorer of the Premier season in Australian Hugh Weibgen (773) but the 20-year-old’s departure last month was a huge blow and they could only watch as Esher clawed past them to safety.
Esher v Sutton
A superb low catch by Andrew McCallum completed Esher’s 57-run victory to rescue them from the threat of relegation which had hung all season.
They went into the final week of the season 13 points adrift and knowing that even a win over Sutton might not save them from the drop.
But the hosts had Nick Smit’s 66 to thank for leading them to 266-8 after being sent in, building on the efforts of openers Nathan Roberts (37) and Ollie Hunt (32), ensuring a defendable total which might have been greater but for Sam Seadon (4-30) working his way through the middle-order.
Sutton spent much of the season in the top two, taking the lead on several occasions, but have faded badly even if sixth place seems a harsh representation of their efforts, especially as they were still in with an outside chance of taking the title going into the final round.
Ansh Bansal (34) offered early momentum before being run out – one of three in the innings – and they lost Surrey’s Josh Blake for 13, ending a campaign in which he scored 534 at 66. It fell to Rehan Ratnasabapathy to keep them in the match, his 60 off 93 balls gaining little support down the order and McCallum’s fine rolling catch at deep square-leg off Ben Townsend finished off the visitors for 209. It brought whoops of delight and relief from Esher, who will hope to put together a more sterling effort next year.
Banstead v Ashtead
Victory by two wickets earned Banstead third place, their best finish for five years.
It meant they swapped the positions held at the start of the day with Ashtead, who dropped a place from last year after a summer in which they have been a match for anyone but held back by inconsistency.
Having been sent in, the visitors were given a strong platform of 104 by former England opener Mark Stoneman (252) and Surrey’s Adam Thomas, whose 55 took him to 579 runs for the season, the 11th highest. Ashtead failed to make the most of it, though, left-arm spinners Paul Byrne (3-35) and Tyler Meyer (4-34) rolling them up for 190.
Byrne’s 36 wickets left him second in the Premier list but it was another southpaw – Tom Homes with 37 – who the home side had to overcome to achieve their target. He finished with 3-44 from 10, Banstead grateful to opener Neil Baker’s 52 and Harri Aravinthan (31) chiefly for scrambling home with nine balls to spare.
East Molesey v Dulwich
Outgoing champions East Molesey went out with a bang to complete Dulwich’s miserable season.
Victory by 159 runs was evidence that Moles remain a powerful force despite never quite firing consistently, Michael Shean’s 91 from 104 balls setting them on the way to 282-9 after being inserted. Shean – who rose to seventh in the run-scoring list with 622 – had to overcome the early loss of Sam Burge and Oli Soames, enjoying a fourth wicket stand worth 127 with Tom Cullen, whose 81 was further evidence of a formidable middle-order force.
Ahmed Khan’s 35 at the top of the order was the best of Dulwich’s slender reply of 123, sliding to their 14th defeat in 18 outings of a season which started promisingly enough with two wins out of the first four – the same as champions Wimbledon – before going horribly downhill.
Andy Westphal’s 2-27 took him to 32 wickets, a fine effort after missing the whole of last season following a knee operation, new ball partner Toby Porter claiming 32 and looking forward to a winter playing in Australia. Matt Tigg (3-11) cleaned up with fellow left-arm spinner Shean (2-20), whose 31 victims ensures he can claim to be the outstanding all-rounder in the Premier Division.
Moles have another target in their sights – Sunday’s Conference Cup final at Bishop’s Stortford, against Hornchurch, when they will be aiming to retain the Bertie Joel Trophy.
Best of the Rest
Guildfrord confirmed they will make an immediate return to the Premier Division – with Normandy winning the scramble to join them.
Just a point was required for the Woodbridge Road side to cement their place in the elite next year, which was secured when Datta Vasireddy’s misjudged reverse-sweep off Sathya Chandrasekharan (4-35) was snapped up by wicketkeeper Tom Geffen to earn the visitors their fifth wicket at Malden Wanderers.
Zac Elkin’s 88 ensured the hosts reached 262-9, Guildford taking two more bowling points and then a fourth to ensure the title when they passed 150. That proved a struggle given they were already six wickets down, going on to finish well short at 218-8 despite Josh Bartlett making 48.
Australian Bartlett’s 30 wickets were a solid contribution to Guildford’s success while skipper Olly Birts took his tally to 55, the best in the entire league by six.
Long-time leaders Weybridge started favourites to join them next year but missed out as they went down by six wickets to Normandy.
Off-spinner Chris Jones’s 5-27 was the main factor in the home side being bowled out for 169 but it was no stroll for Normandy.
They already knew that Beddington’s 22-run defeat at Camberley – despite only chasing 99 – meant victory would assure promotion but then slipped to 34-3. Australian opener Trystan Kennedy, making 91 which pushed him to 677, third in the division list, found a steady ally in Neil Prowse (31no) to finish the job in the 44th over, a six-wicket success meaning Normandy return to the top tier after two years.
With the gap between the top two divisions appearing to widen by the year, the two promoted teams will need to improve considerably to make an impact, both having seen their second teams suffer relegation to heighten concerns about lack of depth.
Rutlishians were joined by Hamptonians, who saw off the challenge of Horsley & Send, in rising to Division One.
Final league placings
Premier Division:
1) Wimbledon 261
2) Reigate Priory 258
3) Banstead 250
4) East Molesey 250
5) Ashtead 238
6) Sutton 236
7) Spencer 219
8) Esher 183
9) Sunbury 176 (R)
10) Dulwich 125 (R)
Division 1
Promoted:
1) Guildford
2) Normandy
Relegated:
9) Cranleigh
10) Oxted & Limpsiefld.
Division 2
Promoted:
1) Rutlishians
2) Hamptonians
Relegated:
8) Cheam;
9) Stoke d’Abernon
10) Wimbledonians
Changes for next year
The ECB have released new endorsement criteria for overseas players from next season. Since the pandemic, Home Office regulations have required players to compete in five first-class or 20 T20 matches in the previous 36 months. That will now revert to the pre-Covid19 rule of 24 months at the time of application. The ECB will be contacting relevant clubs and players whose eligibility has lapsed.
And finally….
Congratulations to all the winners, hard luck to the losers. Just remember you have 34 weeks to get it right next year.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed information to these weekly bulletins, whether players, scorers, umpires, spectators or tea ladies (especially the latter, of course).
